On Thursday, AUGUST 28, Muskoka Authors Association welcomes back author and associate professor of creative writing Catherine Bush. After producing five novels, including the widely acclaimed Blaze Island (2020), Bush has now released Skin, her first collection of stories. She’ll reflect on her journey from novelist to short story writer, the unique appeal of the short story form versus the novel (and what she loves about each), how a story can range from flash fiction to novella, and she’ll share some craft insights along the way.
Bold, vital, and unmistakably of the moment, Skin is the blistering new book of short fiction by Catherine Bush, one of Canada’s most celebrated novelists. Released April 22, 2025, Skin offers a moving exploration of survival and tenderness in a world threatened by cascading crises. Bush, a master of Canadian eco-fiction, poses urgent questions about humanity’s response to the ongoing influence of climate disaster, probes relationships between the human and more-than-human, and delves into a world where touch and intimacy are both longed for and fraught.
Spanning flash fiction to novella-length, these stories capture a society grappling with viruses, climate change, and ecological upheaval. Known for her intelligence and daring prose, Bush brings us something urgent, timely, and breathtaking. Skin is a striking addition to her widely celebrated body of work.
Catherine Bush is the author of the story collection Skin (2025) and five novels, including Blaze Island (2020), a Globe and Mail Best Book, and The Rules of Engagement (2000), a New York Times Notable Book. Her books have been shortlisted for the Trillium Prize, City of Toronto Book Award, and Books in Canada First Novel Award. She served as the 2024 Writer-in-Residence at the Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and Society. An associate professor of creative writing at the University of Guelph, she lives in Toronto and eastern Ontario.
Location: Bracebridge United Church, 46 Dominion Street, Bracebridge, lower level. Enter by door on the south-side driveway.
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm
Fee: MAA Members: Free, Non-Members: $20
For more information and to register, Please email your contact information and e-transfer payment to info@
You can also reach out for more information, to David Bruce Patterson at davidbrucepatterson.maa@
